Chinese influencer Li Ziqi has 17.2 million followers on YouTube.
She's the biggest by far, but there are thousands of other China-based accounts on the platform.
But wait. Isn't YouTube blocked in China? What gives?
Here's how it all works. 🧵
The short answer is that influencers from Li Ziqi down go through special agencies that are trusted by the party-state.
When she was still posting videos, Li did it through WebTVAsia, a Beijing-based YouTube-certified MCN* owned by Malaysian entertainment company Prodigee Media.
WebTVAsia operates more than 600 YouTube channels for PRC-based talent, including the People’s Daily, the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the CCP.
If you spent any time on China-watching Twitter in 2021, you probably came across these two women.
Party-state media, Chinese diplomats & foreign vloggers tried to make out they were just an ordinary account.
We took a closer look & found out that wasn't quite right. 🧵
The women, who introduce themselves in the above video as 'Elder Guli' & 'Younger Guli', two 'Uyghur sisters from Xinjiang', featured in the ‘Story of Xinjiang by Guli’ (SOXBG) set of accounts on YouTube, Twitter, Instagram & TikTok.
All of those platforms are blocked in China.
Actually, both women worked for a Chengdu-based agency, the name of which translates to ‘Chengdu Grey Man Culture Communications’ (成都灰灰侠文化传播有限公司)—a company heavily involved in Xinjiang-related propaganda work.
Here they are in a 'Chengdu Grey Man' recruitment ad:
I genuinely understand the urge to write about how WeChat, despite all its problems, is still a good app in some ways.
When I was in China, I loved using it.
But despite all the important activity & civic engagement that ~can~ take place on it, that doesn't change the fact that it is a highly censored & surveilled space.
WeChat censored our former Prime Minister & then completely de-platformed him. (If you believe any of the other explanations, I have a bridge to sell you)
I honestly do not see how that is not the end of the discussion. It was unacceptable & we shouldn't stand for it.
In giving his interpretation of the "Four Points" today, ambassador Xiao Qian avoided a lot of the stiff language that came in the original statement from Wang Yi.
In fact, unless I missed something, I don't think he quoted them at all?
The 3rd point "we must insist on not targeting third parties" became:
"to respect each other, seek common ground & properly handle differences."
The 4th point "we must adhere to building a positive & pragmatic social foundation of public opinion” became...
"to develop an inclusive relationship based on the interests of our own two peoples."